Union minister Maneka Gandhi has reportedly courted several allegations of impropriety and interference with regard to animal welfare.
New Delhi: Union women and child development minister Maneka Gandhi, an ardent animal rights activist, may soon be asked to keep away from the Animal Welfare Board of India (AWBI) as the government body is displeased with her “continuous interference”.
At a meeting on 19 September, the chairperson of the board said he had requested environment, forests and climate change (MoEFCC) minister Harsh Vardhan, under whom the board falls, to intervene.
According to the minutes of the meeting, accessed by ThePrint, the board does not want Gandhi “to interfere in the affairs of the board by levelling false and defamatory remarks against the members, including the chairman, for smooth, and better functioning of the board”.
This comes months after Gandhi wrote a spate of letters to Harsh Vardhan, accusing board chairman S.P. Gupta of misconduct, extortion and conflict of interest, among other things.
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“It would be unfair to let a corrupt, irresponsible and destructive individual head a body of the government which aims at welfare of the weakest members of society,” Gandhi said in a letter dated 17 July.
While no action has been taken yet against the chairman, who is said to close to the Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh (RSS), a letter written by the environment minister said he was getting the matter of “replacing the present AWBI chairperson” looked into.
The minutes of the AWBI meeting also say that a member of the board’s inspection committee, against whom Gandhi had made several allegations as well, has now withdrawn from the activities of the board. This was because the member, S.K. Mittal, was “hurt by such false and baseless allegations”, the minutes say.
This is not the first time allegations of impropriety and interference have emerged against Gandhi with regard to animal welfare.
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ThePrint had reported last year that Gandhi had quietly pitched for the controversial cattle market rules, which the government was compelled to roll back later. Among other things, the rules instituted a ban on sale of cattle for slaughter.
Against animal welfare organisations too
Minutes of the meeting suggest the board also took exception to the functioning of animal welfare organisations like PETA, which it said were “working for ulterior motives”.
A member of the board suggested that all foreign and domestic animal welfare organisations “be compulsorily registered” with the AWBI. The matter has now been left to the legal committee of the board for further deliberation.
One does not understand the internal politics of the BJP. However, my heart tells me mother and son will not be part of its leadership group after the next general election.